Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Laozi disguises himself as an ordinary Supreme Unity Golden Immortal named Li Er and enters the Human Race, intending to teach them and advance his own enlightenment.
• He expects to find a primitive people, but discovers a thriving Human civilization: people wear crafted clothing, live in comfortable bamboo houses, farm rice, and raise animals.
• A Human cultivator named Cang welcomes him and invites him to a wedding celebration.
• Laozi observes elaborate wedding customs, including formal ceremonies, shared feasting, and newlyweds being sent to prepared bridal chambers.
• He also learns that the Humans have created their own written script. Astonished by how much they have developed in only three assemblies, he asks Cang who taught them.

Character developments and interactions

• Laozi begins confident and condescending, believing that teaching the Humans will be an honor for them. As he sees their achievements, his confidence gives way to embarrassment, confusion, and barely restrained anger; he feels more uncultured than the people he came to enlighten.
• Cang is a friendly Human cultivator who hosts Laozi, explains the tribe’s customs, and shares what he knows about Human life.
• Laozi and Cang interact courteously, but Laozi’s polite questions conceal his growing shock and frustration.

Significant themes

• Expectation versus reality: Laozi’s assumptions about the Humans are overturned by their sophistication.
• Civilization and cultural achievement: Clothing, architecture, agriculture, animal husbandry, marriage customs, and writing show the Humans’ rapid development.
• Pride and humility: Laozi’s status and plans do not prepare him for discovering that the people he intended to teach may already surpass his expectations.

Key plot points

• Cang tells Laozi that humanity’s First Teacher is named Huang, crediting him with creating writing, establishing rites, and teaching farming and animal husbandry.
• Laozi tries to divine Huang’s identity but finds that his past and future are almost entirely blank. Alarmed, he suspects Huang may be an incarnation of the Heaven-Earth Daoist and flees.
• Li Yi, watching through his Yin-Yang Avatar, dismisses Laozi’s attempt to take humanity’s fortune. He has already helped humanity develop in many ways and now plans to provide a cultivation method, establish the Human Sect, and unite his roles as Human Race Cult Leader and Human Dao Sovereign.
• Laozi reaches Hongjun and claims the Heaven-Earth Daoist is personally competing with him for the merit of enlightening humanity.
• Hongjun investigates Huang’s deeds. Though Huang is an unfamiliar early Quasi-Saint, his work—from fire-making and agriculture to writing and marriage—has greatly benefited humanity. Hongjun realizes that challenging Huang may be difficult, since even the Great Dao could view his actions favorably.
• Hongjun is unimpressed by Laozi’s reliance on him, but tells him that, as the sage chosen by the Great Dao, he can still surpass Huang by completing the most important remaining task.

Character developments and interactions

• Laozi shifts from confident curiosity to fear when his divination fails, then seeks Hongjun’s protection. His panic and dependence leave Hongjun privately contemptuous of him.
• Li Yi/Huang is revealed as the force behind humanity’s growing civilization. He acts through an independent avatar and remains focused on completing his plan for the Human Sect.
• Hongjun initially sees Laozi’s report as a chance to discredit the Heaven-Earth Daoist, but his investigation makes him reconsider. He recognizes Huang’s extraordinary achievements and redirects Laozi toward the task that could still secure his position.
• Cang trusts Laozi and openly explains Huang’s importance to the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Earned leadership: Huang’s practical contributions have won him the people’s gratitude and may rival formal authority.
• Merit versus status: Laozi holds a divinely chosen position, but his standing is threatened by Huang’s actual service to humanity.
• Civilization through practical knowledge: Basic advances such as fire, farming, and animal husbandry are portrayed as foundations of human survival and progress.
• Power and legitimacy: Hongjun weighs whether Huang’s intervention violates cosmic rules against the possibility that his deeds make him worthy of greater recognition.

Plot points and events

• Hongjun explains why Laozi is favored to lead the Human Sect: as the eldest of the Three Pure Ones, he carries much of Pangu’s legacy. But Laozi still needs to make a meaningful contribution to humanity.
• Hongjun advises him to create and teach humans a cultivation path suited to their nature. Laozi takes the advice, develops the Golden Core Dao, and begins teaching it to human tribes under his alias, Li Er.
• Li Yi watches Laozi’s efforts without concern. He has already devised several cultivation methods, but believes cultivation alone favors the gifted and leaves ordinary people behind.
• Determined to include every human, Li Yi establishes the Immortal Human Dynasty with leaders from ten tribes. His proclamation declares that it will protect the people, preserve their civilization, unite their Fortune, and reward service and virtue—even those without cultivation talent.
• Laozi is alarmed by the unexpected Dynasty, while powerful beings throughout the Primordial World, including Hongjun, turn their attention to Li Yi’s announcement.

Character developments and interactions

• Laozi shifts from uncertainty to confidence after Hongjun’s guidance. He creates the Golden Core Dao and teaches it, but his private thoughts reveal that he expects humans to owe him gratitude and hopes to claim their Fortune through his future sect.
• Hongjun acts as Laozi’s strategist, explaining how he might secure his role in the Human Race’s future.
• Li Yi shows a broader vision than simply passing on cultivation: he values ordinary people as the foundation of humanity and wants all people to have a path to purpose and prosperity.
• Laozi and Li Yi pursue competing approaches to humanity’s future. Laozi offers cultivation to the few able to understand it; Li Yi builds a collective institution meant to serve and empower everyone.

Significant themes

• Merit, inheritance, and destiny: Laozi’s inherited status gives him an advantage, but he must still act to secure his place.
• Who counts as worthy: The chapter contrasts cultivation talent with the contributions of ordinary people.
• Individual advancement versus collective welfare: Laozi’s path selects a small number of practitioners, while Li Yi’s Dynasty aims to benefit the entire Human Race.
• Human agency and civilization: Li Yi’s vision stresses mutual support, public service, shared Fortune, and the enduring flame of human civilization.

Plot points and events

• Li Yi, appearing as the cultivator Huang, swears before the Great Dao to establish a Human Divine Dynasty. The leaders of the ten human tribes and their people kneel and pledge allegiance, with the Human Dao Will responding and Human Fortune gathering.
• Nuwa, unable to identify Huang, asks Li Yi whether the plan should be stopped. Li Yi tells her to let events unfold. Nuwa concludes that Huang may be part of her master’s long-term guidance of the Human Race and agrees not to interfere.
• Laozi sees the Divine Dynasty as a threat to his own plan to establish the Human Sect. To gain precedence, he immediately swears to the Heavenly Dao that he will found the sect, presenting it as a vehicle for teaching cultivation rather than governing.
• The Human Race and other observers doubt Laozi’s claim to represent or teach humanity. The Human Dao Will shows faint resistance, but Laozi dismisses this: he believes the Heavenly Dao’s recognition is sufficient.

Character developments and interactions

• Huang/Li Yi is revered by the Human Race for helping improve their lives, and now channels their unity into a political institution. He also quietly shapes their skepticism toward Laozi.
• The tribal leaders and people move from gratitude to organized collective allegiance, affirming Huang as Human Emperor and the Divine Dynasty as their own.
• Nuwa recognizes that Huang’s actions may serve her master’s hidden design. She asks Li Yi’s guidance and follows his instruction to stand aside.
• Laozi acts from rivalry and urgency rather than popular support. He insists that his authority comes from the Heavenly Dao, not the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Legitimacy and recognition: Huang’s authority grows from service and popular allegiance, while Laozi relies on Heavenly Dao approval despite human resistance.
• Human unity and power: The Human Race’s shared vows strengthen its Human Dao Will and Fortune, making its collective influence formidable.
• Competing forms of authority: The Divine Dynasty would govern humanity; the Human Sect claims to teach it. The chapter sets their rival claims in motion.

Key plot points and events

• As Huang establishes the Divine Dynasty, Hongjun recognizes that the Human Race’s support for him is unusually strong and that the Human Dao may endorse him as ruler.
• Laozi swears an oath to found the Human Sect. Though the Human Dao Will resists and the Human Race shows little support, Hongjun approves the oath anyway, sacrificing a vast amount of Heavenly Dao power to prevent losing influence over humanity.
• Laozi’s expected Heavenly Dao Merit is overshadowed when the Great Dao sends far greater Merit Violet Light to Li Yi’s Yin-Yang avatar. The Great Dao accepts the avatar’s oath because the Human Race honors Li Yi for his deeds.
• Li Yi becomes a Great Dao Merit Sage and the Divine Dynasty’s ruler—the Human Emperor. Human Dao Fortune gathers around him, and his power rises dramatically.
• His ascension alarms the Demon Court and other powers, who fear the Human Race may become a major force alongside the Wu and Yao.
• As Laozi prepares to receive his merit, Li Yi declares that Taiqing has done nothing for the Human Race and has no right to establish a sect among them: “The Divine Dynasty stands! The Human Sect shall not!”

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yi is confirmed as the Human Race’s rightful leader, elevated by both Great Dao Merit and the people’s support. He directly confronts Laozi’s attempt to claim authority over humanity.
• Laozi gains Heavenly Dao recognition despite lacking popular support, but feels envy and regret when Li Yi receives far greater merit and influence. He hopes to use the Human Sect to build power and rival the Human Emperor.
• Hongjun prioritizes retaining control over the Human Race, bending his own rules and paying a steep cost to approve Laozi’s oath.
• Di Jun, Taiyi, and other powerful beings react with alarm to the Human Race’s growing strength and Li Yi’s new status.

Significant themes

• Legitimacy through service and popular support: Li Yi is recognized because of what he has done for the Human Race, while Laozi’s lack of genuine connection is exposed.
• Competing authorities: The chapter pits the Great Dao and Human Dao’s recognition against Hongjun’s effort to preserve Heavenly Dao influence.
• Power and political ambition: Laozi views the Human Sect as a route to Fortune and authority, while Li Yi asserts the Human Race’s right to choose its own leadership.
• The rise of a new power: The Human Race’s growing Fortune shifts the balance among the Primordial World’s major factions.

Plot points and events

• Human Emperor Li Yi publicly declares that he will abolish the Human Sect, provoking outrage and disbelief among the Primordial World’s powerful factions.
• The Demon Tribe, Witch Tribe, and other great beings hope the Heavenly Dao will punish him. They fear the Human Race’s growing power and resent the threat it poses to their own influence and resources.
• Houtu is the exception among the Ancestor Witches: she worries for the Human Race, dislikes conflict, and feels indebted to the Heaven-Earth Dao Ancestor.
• Laozi and Hongjun are angered by Li Yi’s challenge. Although Laozi has spread his Golden Core Dao among humans, Hongjun’s real grievance is that Li Yi is publicly rejecting Hongjun’s newly endorsed plan for Laozi to lead the Human Dao’s teachings.
• Heavenly Dao merit continues descending for Laozi to establish the Human Sect. As Laozi flies to receive it, Li Yi appears and seizes the merit, interrupting Laozi’s path to Sagehood.
• Laozi confronts Li Yi, insisting that he created and taught the Golden Core Dao for the Human Race. Li Yi dismisses it as “trash.”

Character developments

• Li Yi shows confidence and authority, openly challenging both the Heavenly Dao’s decision and Laozi’s claim to lead human teachings.
• Laozi shifts from anticipation of becoming a Sage to furious desperation when Li Yi takes the merit. He directly challenges the Human Emperor despite the vast difference in their power.
• Di Jun and Taiyi reveal their fear and hostility toward the Human Race, hoping Li Yi’s defiance will bring Heavenly Dao punishment.
• Houtu stands apart from her fellow Ancestor Witches, responding with concern and compassion rather than satisfaction.
• Hongjun takes Li Yi’s announcement as a personal public insult, even while recognizing privately that Laozi has contributed little to the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Rising human power: Other races fear the Human Race’s growing strength and the possibility that it could upset the existing balance.
• Authority and defiance: Li Yi challenges the Heavenly Dao’s mandate and Laozi’s authority over human teachings.
• Scarce resources and rivalry: With the world’s resources largely divided, other races see human gains as potential losses for themselves.
• Merit versus genuine contribution: Laozi’s Heavenly Dao merit promises him Sagehood, while Li Yi rejects his teachings as unworthy of the Human Race.

Character interactions

• Di Jun and Taiyi discuss their shared hope that Li Yi will be punished; many other powerful beings echo their contempt.
• Houtu’s reaction contrasts with the hostility of the other Ancestor Witches.
• Hongjun and Laozi are aligned in their anger at Li Yi, though for different reasons: Hongjun resents the challenge to his decision, while Laozi is focused on losing the merit.
• Li Yi’s confrontation with Laozi culminates in a blunt rejection of Laozi’s Golden Core Dao.

Key plot points and events

• After Li Yi denounces Laozi’s Golden Core cultivation method as inferior, Laozi angrily challenges his right to judge it.
• A Heavenly Dao Eye forms above Li Yi, displeased that he plans to abolish the Human Sect and reclaim its merit. Li Yi remains calm and makes a Great Dao Oath to create three cultivation paths exclusively for the Human Race.
• The Human Race Supreme Method, adapted from a cultivation system Li Yi already knew, is designed for gifted humans and can lead to Peak Quasi-Saint. Its transmission gives cultivators insights, and some abandon Laozi’s Golden Core Dao to practice it.
• The Human Race Fortune Art rewards service to the Human Race and Divine Dynasty. Contributions such as teaching, healing, farming, and public works can earn fortune, giving even people with limited cultivation talent a path to immortality.
• The Human Race Blood Battle Scripture is intended for courageous warriors who will defend and expand the Human Race’s territory.
• Humans thank Li Yi for the methods. He concludes that they will make the Human Race strong and reiterates that Laozi’s method did too little for the people.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yi demonstrates confidence in his Chaos Demon God origins and Great Dao Sage status. Rather than debate Laozi, he proves his criticism by providing methods suited to different human needs.
• Laozi moves from indignation to silence as he recognizes that his Golden Core Dao is weaker and serves a narrower group. He had focused on talented cultivators, overlooking ordinary people.
• The Human Race responds with gratitude and hope. Prodigies embrace the Supreme Method; ordinary humans find opportunity in the Fortune Art; warriors are drawn to the Blood Battle Scripture.
• The Heavenly Dao watches Li Yi’s actions with displeasure, setting up a conflict between its authority and Li Yi’s support for the Human Race.

Significant themes

• Inclusive progress: A strong society needs paths for talent, service, and military courage—not just exceptional cultivators.
• Merit through contribution: The Fortune Art values practical work and service, extending opportunity beyond the gifted.
• Legitimacy through results: Li Yi’s challenge to Laozi is backed by methods that better address the Human Race’s needs.
• Human autonomy and divine authority: Li Yi’s oath and the Heavenly Dao’s reaction frame the Human Race’s future as a struggle over who will guide it.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yi publicly presents three cultivation methods for the Human Race, challenging Laozi’s Golden Core Dao.
• Across the Primordial World, powerful figures expect Laozi’s method to prevail. Yuanshi, Di Jun, Taiyi, and most of the Ancestor Witches dismiss Li Yi’s achievement; Houtu is the exception among the Witches.
• The Great Dao examines the methods and grants Li Yi a vast torrent of merit, confirming their value and superiority.
• The Great Dao’s recognition also validates Li Yi’s decision to abolish Laozi’s Human Sect. The Heavenly Dao’s tribulation clouds withdraw rather than attack him.
• Li Yi’s Human Dao Will absorbs the merit, increasing human fortune and further strengthening him. He then leaves to attend to the newly founded Divine Dynasty, while Laozi departs in defeat.

Character developments

• Li Yi is affirmed as both a powerful Human Emperor and an exceptional creator of cultivation methods. His confidence in surpassing Laozi is vindicated.
• Laozi suffers a decisive spiritual and political setback: the Great Dao recognizes Li Yi’s contribution instead of his, undermining his claim to the Human Race and severing his Sage Path.
• Yuanshi is humiliated and angered by the result, especially because an unknown outsider has outdone the Pangu Orthodox.
• Di Jun and Taiyi are forced to question their assumptions about Li Yi after the Great Dao rewards him.
• The Heavenly Dao is shown to be constrained by the Great Dao’s judgment and unable to punish Li Yi.

Significant themes

• Recognition through merit: The Great Dao’s impartial judgment outweighs reputation and lineage.
• Innovation versus tradition: Li Yi’s new methods surpass Laozi’s celebrated creation, challenging the authority of the Pangu Orthodox.
• Legitimacy and power: Divine recognition strengthens Li Yi’s claim over the Human Race while weakening Laozi’s.
• Limits of authority: Even the Heavenly Dao must yield to the higher Great Dao.

Character interactions

• Li Yi’s challenge is answered not through direct combat, but through the Great Dao’s judgment.
• Observers across the tribes—including Yuanshi, Di Jun, Taiyi, and the Ancestor Witches—dismiss Li Yi before the verdict, then witness their expectations collapse.
• The Heavenly Dao’s withdrawn tribulation implicitly acknowledges the Great Dao’s decision.
• Laozi watches the humans honor Li Yi as he leaves, underscoring the contrast between the victorious Human Emperor and the defeated Sage.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• In the Xuanhuang Realm, Guto Xuanling, the Guto Tribe’s supreme ancestor, awakens after his descendants report that the student Li Yi survived a trial on Blue Star and encountered the powerful Taoist Tongtian.
• After watching footage of Tongtian’s arrival through a spatial passage, Guto Xuanling recognizes him as a Peak Great Firmament Golden Immortal and suspects the Primordial Realm behind him is a world of comparable rank to the Xuanhuang Realm.
• The Guto Tribe plans to recall Li Yi, control him, and use him to summon Tongtian. Guto Xuanling will personally help ensure Tongtian cannot escape, enabling the tribe to begin devouring the Primordial Realm. He orders his son Guto Xuefeng to prepare the operation and take control of Li Yi.
• Meanwhile, Heavenly Dao Hongjun worries that the Human Race’s growing power will eventually rival his own. Unable to establish a sect within the Human Race’s Divine Dynasty, he decides to influence it indirectly.
• Hongjun summons his disciples Zhunti and Jieyin, who complain about losing their long-standing competition with Hong Yun in the Western Land. He tells them the Human Race is suited to their teachings and promises to help them become Sages if they can bring it under their influence.

Character developments

• Guto Xuanling shifts from observation to direct involvement, viewing the Primordial Realm as a potential conquest that could advance his cultivation.
• Guto Xuefeng accepts responsibility for recalling and controlling Li Yi, despite initially suggesting the younger generation could handle it.
• Hongjun reveals his determination to curb the Human Race’s rise by covertly diverting its talent and fortune.
• Zhunti and Jieyin move from grievance and hesitation to keen interest once Hongjun offers them a path to Sagehood.

Significant themes

• Power and expansion: The Xuanhuang Realm seeks to devour a rival world for greater power.
• Manipulation and exploitation: Li Yi is treated as a tool to reach Tongtian, while Hongjun plans to use religious influence to siphon the Human Race’s talent and authority.
• Rising human power: The Human Race’s growing strength threatens the established order and draws the attention of powerful outsiders.
• Ambition and opportunity: Both the Guto Tribe and Hongjun’s disciples view other worlds or peoples as means to advancement.

Character interactions

• Guto Xuefeng reports to his father and lays out the plan to use Li Yi to summon Tongtian; Guto Xuanling approves and takes personal responsibility for the operation.
• Hongjun dismisses Zhunti and Jieyin’s complaints, then redirects their ambition toward the Human Race by offering the reward of Sagehood.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Hongjun offers Zhunti and Jieyin a way to become saints by advancing them Heavenly Dao merit, on the condition that they convert part of the Human Race to the Western Teachings.
• The brothers make a binding vow: within three assemblies, they must persuade 30% of the Human Race to take refuge with them and transfer those people’s fortune and offerings to their teachings. Failure would cost them their sainthood, merit, golden bodies, and freedom.
• Heavenly Dao merit descends, and both brothers attain sainthood. Hongjun conceals the event so Li Yi will not learn that two new sages have appeared.
• Zhunti and Jieyin adopt the name “Mahayana Teachings” and disguise themselves as ascetics to preach secretly among tribes on the Divine Dynasty’s frontier.
• Meanwhile, Li Yi’s Human Divine Dynasty continues to prosper through agriculture, animal husbandry, population growth, and a War Department training cultivators and developing battle formations. Its Human Dao fortune—and Li Yi’s power—rise rapidly.
• After one assembly passes, Li Yi receives a report that the Mahayana Teachings are preaching among border tribes. His attendant asks whether to capture their followers.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhunti and Jieyin begin in despair over their lost prospects of sainthood, but the promise of merit quickly turns that despair into eager resolve. They accept an exceptionally dangerous vow and leave to pursue its demands.
• Hongjun acts as both their benefactor and enforcer: he grants the merit, warns them of the consequences of failure, and hides their new status from Li Yi.
• Li Yi remains focused on strengthening the Human Race rather than expanding its territory. His growing authority and fortune make the brothers’ task increasingly urgent.
• The brothers coordinate their plan and choose a new religious identity to conceal their affiliation. At the chapter’s close, Li Yi must decide how to respond to their covert activity.

Significant themes

• Ambition and sacrifice: The brothers accept severe risks and obligations for the chance to become saints.
• Power and religious conversion: The struggle over the Human Race’s loyalty is also a struggle over its fortune and influence.
• Rising human power: The Divine Dynasty’s prosperity and Li Yi’s growing strength challenge the Heavenly Dao’s ability to control events.
• Secrecy and looming conflict: Hongjun’s concealment and the brothers’ covert preaching set up a confrontation between the new sages and Li Yi’s regime.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yi learns that the Mahayana Teachings are being preached in Human Dynasty territory. His calculations reveal that the hidden leaders are likely the Western sages Zhunti and Jieyin, whose efforts seem intended to siphon Human Dao Fortune.
• Confident in the Divine Dynasty’s prosperity and unity, Li Yi goes to confront them.
• Zhunti and Jieyin privately lament that their plans have failed. The Wu and Yao Tribes have withdrawn rather than attack the Human Race, while the Human Race’s Fortune Art and stable society leave people with little reason to convert.
• When Li Yi appears, the two sages flee into Hundun, but he intercepts them. Jieyin claims they only hoped to take on disciples.
• Li Yi lets them go, forbids religious sects from operating in his territory, and warns them not to scheme against the Human Race again.
• Afterward, the brothers realize they are unlikely to fulfill the Great Vows that secured their sagehood. Zhunti proposes defecting from the Heavenly Dao and seeking protection under the Human Dao; Jieyin is shocked, but recognizes the idea may work.

Character developments

• Li Yi is confident and politically shrewd. Rather than kill the sages, he sees greater advantage in letting their unfulfilled vows create future conflict with Hongjun.
• Zhunti shifts from angry frustration to desperate pragmatism, ultimately suggesting rebellion against the Heavenly Dao.
• Jieyin is cautious and burdened by the consequences of their failed vows, but begins to entertain Zhunti’s audacious proposal.

Significant themes

• The strength of a well-governed society: material security and shared fortune make the Human Race resistant to outside religious influence.
• Power and strategic restraint: Li Yi chooses to neutralize a threat without destroying useful future leverage.
• The cost of vows and ambition: Zhunti and Jieyin’s path to sagehood leaves them vulnerable if they cannot meet their promises.
• Shifting allegiances: the chapter ends with the possibility that former agents of the Heavenly Dao may seek shelter with the Human Dao.

Character interactions

• Li Yi confronts Zhunti and Jieyin, hears Jieyin’s excuse, and warns both against further interference.
• In private, the brothers blame the Wu and Yao Tribes’ retreat and the Fortune Art for ruining their plans.
• Zhunti privately urges Jieyin to abandon the Heavenly Dao and surrender to Li Yi, leaving the brothers poised for a major decision.

Key events

• Zhunti and Jieyin realize their vows to Hongjun are impossible to fulfill and that the Heavenly Dao will punish them if they flee. Zhunti persuades Jieyin that seeking protection from Li Yi and the Human Dao is their only hope.
• Li Yi cultivates in the Human Emperor Palace, using Human Dao fortune to advance rapidly toward the middle stage of primordial Daluo golden immortal, while postponing deeper study of the laws.
• The two sages arrive and offer to join the Human Dao. Li Yi feigns surprise, then demands that each entrust a fragment of their primordial spirit to the Human Dao instead of merely swearing an oath.
• They comply, placing their lives—and the possibility of being revived through Human Dao fortune—under Li Yi’s control.
• Li Yi orders them to stay undercover and continue converting people to the Western Teachings, intending to use them as infiltrators against the Heavenly Dao.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhunti takes the lead, arguing that Hongjun’s demands make loyalty unreasonable and going to Li Yi before Jieyin is ready. Jieyin follows once he can no longer maintain his hesitation.
• Li Yi demonstrates strategic caution: he welcomes the sages but secures leverage over them before assigning them a covert role.
• The brothers outwardly submit, though they privately recognize that Li Yi’s demand is more controlling than a vow. Their exchange reflects their shared anxiety and their dependence on him.

Significant themes

• Survival over loyalty: Zhunti frames the relationship with Hongjun as transactional, justifying defection when their survival is threatened.
• Power and dependency: Joining the Human Dao offers protection and revival, but costs the brothers their independence.
• Strategic infiltration: Li Yi turns apparent defections into an opportunity to undermine the Heavenly Dao from within.

Key plot points and events

• Li Yi declares his plan to infiltrate the Heavenly Dao’s scheme and use its fortune to benefit the Human Dao.
• Zhunti and Jieyin warn that the plan is dangerous, but Li Yi insists. Since their Primordial Spirits are entrusted to the Human Dao, they have little choice but to obey.
• Li Yi orders the 1.456 billion members of the Human Emperor Hall—loyal elites with strong Human Race Fortune—to the western frontier.
• He stages their exile as punishment, making their resentment seem genuine so Zhunti and Jieyin can plausibly recruit them into the Western Teachings.
• The Western Teachings appear to gain twenty percent of Human Dao Fortune. Hongjun verifies the result and believes the recruitment is real.
• Hongjun personally visits the frontier and bestows Heavenly Dao Fortune on the recruits, intending to use them to drain Human Dao Fortune from within.
• He notices Buddhist Swastika Dao Seals in the recruits but accepts Zhunti’s explanation that they are ordinary conversion marks. In reality, Li Yi planted the seals to absorb the fortune Hongjun grants.

Character developments and interactions

• Li Yi demonstrates confidence and strategic cunning, anticipating Hongjun’s plan and turning it against him. He is blunt with Zhunti and Jieyin, openly reminding them that their lives are under his control.
• Zhunti and Jieyin move from alarm and reluctance to obedient cooperation. They help recruit the elites and convincingly present themselves to Hongjun as successful, faithful disciples.
• Hongjun grows pleased with the apparent progress of his scheme. His divinations fail to reveal Li Yi’s deception, and he mistakes the planted seals for ordinary Buddhist marks.
• Li Yi directs the operation from behind the scenes, while Zhunti and Jieyin act as recruiters and intermediaries with Hongjun.

Significant themes

• Deception and counter-deception: Both sides try to infiltrate and weaken the other, but Li Yi’s layered staging conceals his true purpose.
• Power and control: Li Yi’s authority over Zhunti and Jieyin ensures their compliance, while Hongjun assumes the Western Teachings remain under his control.
• Fortune as a weapon: Heavenly Dao Fortune, intended to erode the Human Dao, may instead be captured through Li Yi’s seals.
• Appearance versus reality: The recruits’ genuine grievances and the visible Buddhist marks help disguise Li Yi’s manipulation.

Li Yi absorbed the heavenly dao fortune Hongjun had secretly directed into the human dao and broke through to mid-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal. The breakthrough shook the Primordial World, while Hongjun remained convinced that he could reclaim the fortune and ruin Li Yi.

• Li Yi’s Human Emperor Seals filtered and absorbed the heavenly dao fortune bestowed on over a hundred million humans who had joined the Western Teachings.
• Hongjun praised Zhunti and Jieyin, ordered them to recruit more Human Race elites, and expected to reclaim the fortune after it permeated the human dao.
• Li Yi absorbed the fortune in the Human Emperor Hall and broke through to mid-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal, sending a terrifying Dao resonance across the Primordial World.
• Di Jun and countless other cultivators sensed the breakthrough and were shaken by the Human Emperor’s rapid rise.
• Hongjun believed Li Yi’s breakthrough was fueled by his heavenly dao fortune and anticipated that reclaiming it would make Li Yi fall from sagehood.

Tongtian visited Li Yi after grasping his Sage Dao and asked whether he could entrust his vow to the Human Dao. With Li Yi's support, Tongtian established the Interception Sect to teach immortal cultivation to all beings, setting up a likely clash with the Heavenly Dao.

• Nuwa sensed the Human Emperor's powerful breakthrough and resolved to catch up with her Master.
• Tongtian saw the Human Emperor's rising aura, decided to pursue Human Dao Sainthood, and went to seek Li Yi's guidance.
• Li Yi revealed that he and his Human Emperor Dao avatar had reached the mid-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal realm, then welcomed Tongtian into Penglai Immortal Island.
• Tongtian told Li Yi he wanted to establish a sect for all beings and entrust his great vow to the Human Dao, and Li Yi promised to hold back the Heavenly Dao.
• Tongtian proclaimed the establishment of the Interception Sect and vowed to teach immortal cultivation to all who sincerely sought the Dao.
• The Human Dao echoed Tongtian's vow across the Primordial World, inspiring its beings while Great Supernatural Beings warned that the Heavenly Dao would oppose him.

Yuanshi concluded that his sage path was to uphold the Heavenly Dao, then grew furious when Tongtian vowed to establish the Interception Sect under the Human Dao. He went to the Purple Cloud Palace expecting Hongjun to punish Tongtian, but Hongjun surprised him by saying he would not.

• Yuanshi watched humble cultivators struggle and decided they should follow the Heavenly Dao's order rather than seek immortality.
• Tongtian vowed before the Human Dao to establish the Interception Sect and give all beings a chance to cultivate the Great Dao.
• Yuanshi condemned Tongtian's vow as an attack on the Heavenly Dao and hurried to the Purple Cloud Palace to stop him.
• Hongjun chose not to interfere because he wanted to keep secretly devouring Human Dao fortune.
• Yuanshi offered to arrest Tongtian, but Hongjun asked who had said he planned to punish him.

Yuanshi questioned Heavenly Dao Hongjun about why he would allow Tongtian to establish the Interception Sect under Human Dao, but Hongjun insisted Heavenly Dao did not care about the authority involved and kept Yuanshi in the Purple Cloud Palace to watch. As Tongtian made his great vow to Human Dao, merit descended and enveloped him without Heavenly Dao intervening, leaving the watching powers stunned.

• Yuanshi asked Hongjun to punish Tongtian for placing the Interception Sect under Human Dao, but Hongjun claimed Heavenly Dao had no interest in teaching authority.
• Hongjun told Yuanshi to stay and watch Tongtian attain sagehood, then showed him Tongtian making his vow.
• Di Jun and Taiyi doubted Tongtian could attain the Dao, while Zhurong and Gonggong expected Heavenly Dao to suppress Human Dao.
• Tongtian's vow gathered the wishes of beings seeking the Dao, and his aura surged toward the Daluo golden immortal realm.
• Human Dao tribulation clouds formed above Tongtian and sent merit down to envelop him, while Heavenly Dao did not intervene.

Tongtian attained Sagehood through the Human Dao, met with Li Yi, and established the Interception Sect on an island in the East Sea. As Yuanshi began establishing the Elucidation Sect, Demon Court cultivators started leaving to seek instruction from Tongtian.

• The Human Dao's merit enveloped Tongtian, breaking his cultivation shackles and allowing him to attain Sagehood without interference from the Heavenly Dao.
• Tongtian went to the Human Emperor Hall and asked Li Yi for a place in the East Sea to establish the Interception Sect; Li Yi offered him an immortal island left by the Demon Tribe.
• Yuanshi received Hongjun's permission to establish a sect and attain Sagehood, then began making a vow on Kunlun Mountain to establish the Elucidation Sect.
• Tongtian accepted Li Yi's offer, traveled to the island, and established the Interception Sect's Dao lineage.
• Demonic creatures, spirit beasts, and cultivators across the Primordial World were drawn to the Interception Sect's open access to cultivation methods.
• Golden Immortals from the Demon Court began leaving to seek Tongtian as their master.

Di Jun tried to stop demons from defecting to Tongtian’s Interception Sect, while the Human Race and the sect continued to prosper. Seeing their rising fortune, Heavenly Dao Hongjun activated his hidden contingency to openly erode the Human Dao and seize its fortune.

• Di Jun learned that many Golden Immortals and Primordial Unity Golden Immortals had left the Demon Court to join Tongtian’s Interception Sect, and he considered punishing them.
• Bai Ze warned Di Jun against placing a squad near Tongtian’s East Sea territory, so Di Jun approved a plan to enslave the defectors’ clansmen and descendants instead.
• Tongtian’s Interception Sect gained more disciples, while Yuanshi worried that his strict standards would leave the Elucidation Sect with too few powerful disciples.
• The Human Race built cities, developed its civilization, and produced dozens of Daluo Golden Immortals, bringing its fortune closer to the Demon Tribe’s.
• Hongjun activated the contingency hidden in the heavenly Dao fortune he had invested, beginning to erode the Human Dao and draw out its fortune.

Li Yi reached the late stage of Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal by cultivating with the Human Dao fortune, then turned Heavenly Dao Hongjun’s hidden siphon against him by disguising the Human Dao’s karmic retribution and sinful energy as fortune. Heavenly Dao Hongjun absorbed the tainted energy into the Heavenly Dao, believing his plan to seize Human Dao fortune had succeeded.

• Li Yi used the Human Dao fortune, strengthened by thirty percent of heavenly dao fortune, to break through to late-stage Primordial Daluo Golden Immortal.
• Li Yi detected Heavenly Dao Hongjun’s hidden contingency trying to siphon fortune from the Human Dao.
• Li Yi disguised the Human Dao’s karmic retribution and sinful energy as human dao fortune and sent it into the siphon.
• Heavenly Dao Hongjun received the black mass, mistook it for dense human dao fortune, and merged it into the heavenly dao fortune.